Beekeepers

But when she awoke to the sound of some kind of ungodly loud noise at 7:00am, she wasn’t feeling quite as generous, knowing where the racket was coming from. Unable to sleep, she got up then went to the front of the cabin and peeked through the red and white checkered curtains and looked.

“A backhoe? You’ve gotta be kidding me! At this time of day?”

She took a few deep breaths then remembered Jared saying he needed a septic tank and a well. He also mentioned his ‘tiny house’ was being delivered, a thought that made her laugh, so she got dressed then boiled some hot water and made two cups of instant coffee which she carried over to her neighbor’s place. Or...space.

“I thought you might like a cup of coffee,” she told him when he saw her and slowly walked her way.

“Bless you!” he said as she handed it to him. It was a little chilly but very comfortable, and the hot liquid was perfect.

“They’re here kind of early,” Willa said without sounding accusing.

“I’m really sorry about the noise. I had this set up before I knew you’d be here. They have so many other jobs this was the only time they could get it done. It had to have woke you up, and all I can do is apologize. Again.”

He smiled then said, “And thank you for the coffee.”

They discussed Jared’s plans for the day, and Willa asked him if it included eating breakfast.

“Well, I kind of already had breakfast,” he told her.

“Oh. Trail mix?” she asked with a laugh.

Jared chuckled then told her he’d driven to Fargo and ate at a Waffle House.

“They’re open 24 hours a day, and it was already crowded at 4:30.”

“You drove all the way to Fargo and ate breakfast at 4:30?”

“I have trouble sleeping sometimes so I decided to just get up and get moving. And it’s really not all that far.”

Willa felt a little foolish when she recalled that it was only 10 miles to Fargo.

“And I had three cups of coffee already,” Jared told her as he tried not to smile.

“Oh, okay. You eat real food and leave me here to fend for berries. Uh-huh. So that’s how it’s going to be?” she replied as though she were offended.

“Hey, come on. I’d have taken you with me and paid for your meal, but I was pretty sure you’d shoot me if I knocked on your door at 4am.”

“Okay. Good call,” Willa said very seriously before smiling at him.

“And I really do appreciate the fourth cup, though. A guy can never have too much coffee,” he told her.

“It’s instant, and instant is pretty awful, but if you’re a caffeine addict like me....”

“Oh. Guilty!” Jared told her. “I’ve even eaten instant coffee with a spoon before.”

Willa turned to face him which meant she was now looking at his left side, then said, “That’s disgusting!”

“Thank goodness I’m not addicted to nicotine, right?” he replied with a smile.

Maybe it was just the morning sunlight, but Willa thought he was even nicer looking now than she’d thought the night before. She didn’t stare, but she looked enough to wonder if he might be a runner as he had the build for it.

“Is there anything I can help you with today?” Jared asked, surprising her.

She was pretty sure he didn’t see her staring, but just in case, she looked up at the sky and said, “I’m not sure, but it looks like it’s going to be sunny and warm.”

“The Red River’s only a couple of miles to our east,” Jared told her.

“I’m sorry?” she replied, wondering what that meant.

“If it gets too hot, it’s not that far to the water,” he explained as he took another sip. “There’s actually a pretty nice hole I found where a person could splash around a little on a day like this.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m kind of partial to taking a shower rather than going to a river,” she told him, hoping that didn’t sound bad.

“Hey! I thought you were an outdoor kind of girl,” Jared told her with a laugh.

Willa laughed, too, then thanked him for the ‘girl’ comment.

“At my age, I don’t hear that too often anymore.”

Now he turned to look at her, and after ‘sizing her up’, Jared laughed again.

“Yeah, turning 30 will do that to a woman, huh?” he said as though she were that age.

“Wait. You think I’m...30?” she asked as she pointed to herself.

“Oh, no. You’re not dragging me into that discussion,” he told her. “There’s no way I’m gonna venture an actual guess.”

“That’s okay. If you think I’m anywhere even close to 30, then you’ve made my day!”

Jared knew several guys on active duty who were in their early 30s who said things like how they were ‘pushing 40’, so he didn’t give it much thought because regardless of her age, she looked fairly young to him. Her skin was clear and tight, and she had a great smile and a pretty face. She’d never win a beauty contest, but neither would he. So whether she was 32 or even 35, he thought she was an attractive woman.

“And you made mine,” he told her as he drained the cup then handed it back to her.

“It’s a good thing they’re getting your septic tank put in,” she said.

He gave her a quizzical look and that made her laugh.

“You did say this was your fourth cup of coffee, didn’t you?”

Jared liked her sense of humor and told her so after he laughed.

She thanked him then started to walk away but stopped.

“Oh, and to answer your question, I like being outside if it’s to take care of my bees. But otherwise, I’m more of an indoor...girl.”

“Ah. Okay. Good to know!” he called out just as the backhoe got very loud again.

“Sorry about the noise!” he yelled even louder through cupped hands.

“No worries!” Willa called back, another smile on her pretty face. “I’ll be having trucks in and out of here, too!”

The septic tank was done by 10am, and the ‘tiny house’ rolled in around noon. Jared wouldn’t have any power for a few more days until the county ran another line from the poles serving Willa’s cabin or from the main line on the road, but getting his ‘home’ in place was the big deal. He picked up two more cases of bottle water and some canned goods at an all-night market on his way back from Fargo that morning, so he was about as well off as he could be, considering the circumstances.

Around 3pm, Willa made her way back over and found Jared inside laying on the floor when she peeked through the only window in front.

“You okay?” she called out as she knocked.

His leg was killing him, so he’d laid his sleeping bag and pillow down then laid his body on top of it.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” he told her as he sat up.

“I brought a housewarming gift,” she told him with a laugh until she saw him wince again when he stood up.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked with real concern.

She was holding a large scented candle, one of several she brought with her, so Jared ignored her question and asked, “For me?”

“Oh. Yes. Do you like it?” she asked as she handed it to him.

“Well, it’s by far the nicest housewarming gift I’ve ever received,” he told her with a straight face.

“Meaning...it’s the only one you’ve ever received, right?”

“Very perceptive...Doc!” he teased.

“I...have my moments,” she told him as she raised her nose up.

Jared laughed at her feigned snobbery then told her he did like it before asking, “Can I show you around?”

Willa laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth as ‘around’ was maybe 20 feet in length and and 15 feet or so in width.

She craned her neck to see around his head on both sides then said, “No. I’m good.”

“Smart aleck,” he said, pretending to mutter under his breath.

“What? It’s a nice place!” she told him as she tried not to laugh. “All, what? Three-hundred square feet?”

“Ha!” Jared replied as he threw his own head back. “I’ll have you know this luxury dwelling is a 372 square-foot dream home.”

“Oh. Well, excuse ME!” Willa said before laughing again.

Jared wasn’t intending to stare, either, but he must have been because Willa asked him, “What?” causing him to blink twice.

“Sorry. I think I just got a little lost there.”

She looked at him for a couple of seconds then said, “It’s understandable. I mean...anyone could get lost in....”

She spread her arms wide then said, “All THIS!”

Jared tried to stare her down but gave up when her own straight face gave way to a smile. The smile was followed by a spurting sound and then an outright laugh causing him to laugh, too.

“It may be small, but...all of this...is mine,” he told her as he spread his arms out, nearly touching both walls.

“Hey. Just think, though. Cleanup is going to be a breeze,” Willa told him.

They both laughed again then Jared said, “Just not until I get my water and power hooked up. But yes, after that I agree with you.”

She asked when he thought those things would get done, and when he told her it would be a few more days, she again offered her cabin.

“You can always stop by to take a shower or...whatever.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Jared told her sincerely. “But what I’d really like is to pick your brain about our favorite topic.”

“Bees? Yes. By all means. Please stop by anytime and ask away.”

“Do you have a date for when you’re bringing yours out here yet?” he asked.

“Nothing specific but soon. In fact, we should talk about location first, don’t you think?”

“Definitely. We can do that now if you’d like,” Jared told her.

“Okay, then follow me,” Willa said very cheerfully.

Again, she saw Jared struggle to step down from the house to the ground and began really wondering what was wrong but still didn’t feel comfortable asking.

They didn’t have to walk all that much, but they did move around some as Willa pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of various locations.

“So I’m thinking mine should go right over there, and I’d recommend you putting yours...over here,” she told him as she pointed to the specific places she thought were best.

“Consider it done,” Jared said.

There was a pause before he said, “So...now what?”

“I think I’m going to stop by Mr. Dyer’s place and set up the delivery.”

She hesitated then asked, “You wanna come with?”

Jared made her laugh again when he raised his arms and sniffed his pits.

“Sure. I think I’m...bearable.”

“You’re fine!” she told him when she stopped laughing. “If you’re ready I’ll pull my truck up in a couple of minutes.”

“Sure. Sounds like a plan,” Jared agreed.

As they drove, Jared asked questions to confirm what he thought he knew about moving bees, and Willa told him she was impressed with his knowledge.

She, in turn, asked more questions about his interest in bees at this point in his life, and he told her again he just needed some time alone to think things through.

“Hmmm. So no great loss in love, and yet an attractive, young guy is out living in the middle of nowhere and wants to be a beekeeper. Okay. Sure,” Willa said with a playful look that said she wasn’t really buying it but would accept his explanation for now.

“I don’t see a whole lot of difference between us,” Jared told her.

“As far as...?”

“Okay. Other than the breakup, why is a beautiful woman living in the likes of Harwood, North Dakota, all alone—when there are a half dozen other places known for being just as bee-friendly.”

“Okay. Point taken, but remember I’m not an MD but a PhD. Those other places, like your home of Seattle, by the way, are on the top-10 list. But unlike Harwood, they’re ungodly expensive.”

“Ah, okay. So...lonely, poor, and beautiful. Yeah, sure. Works for me,” he told her knowing he was either on the money or very close.

“Poor, yes. Lonely? Not so much. And beautiful? Yeah, right.”

Jared looked over at her and thought she looked great in a ball cap with her hair in a ponytail sticking out of it and waited until she looked at him.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Willa asked.

“Just checking.”

“Checking? Checking what?”

“To see if I’m right. About you. Being beautiful.”

She gave him a ‘get out of here’ look just before he told her he was correct.

“You’ve only been away from civilization a few days. You can’t be that desperate yet,” she teased.

“Desperate? Hardly,” he told her with a smile.

She wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he’d already made her feel good, so she just kept driving.

After pulling up to the Dyers’ house, it only took a few minutes to agree on when to move the bees, and this time Mr. Dyer again promised to move all of them.

“Seeing as how I kinda made a mess of things, it’s the least I can do,” he told his customers.

This time, they shook hands before leaving.

They hadn’t gone a mile when Jared asked if Willa was hungry.

“A little. Why?”

“Well, before we leave town, why don’t we stop and get something to eat?”

He could tell she was hesitant, so Jared said, “My treat.”

He also knew by the way she looked at him that she had something she wanted to ask him. He came close to telling her to go ahead and ask but didn’t.

But once they got their food and sat down she said, “Okay, this is none of my business, but, well, I’m here thanks to some reasonably generous grants, as there are many institutions and even some very wealthy individuals who realize how dire the honeybee situation is.”

She waited for a second then said, “May I ask how you...support yourself?”

“Yes. You may ask,” Jared replied, trying not to laugh.

Willa tossed a curly fry at him then asked after calling him a smart aleck like he’d done to her.

“I have some money set aside,” he told her as he ate the fry she’d thrown.

“Okay. You don’t have to tell me,” Willa said. “If you’re some kind of trust-funder with a green bent, that’s okay.”

“Trust fund? Me?” Jared replied unable not to laugh this time.

“The cost of living in the woods is dreadfully low, but the land, the house....”

Willa laughed, munched another fry, then said, “Make that...tiny house...and food plus other expenses...still costs money. So unless you have a trust fund, rich parents, or maybe developed some kind of software app or game, this makes no sense.”

“How do you know I didn’t rob a bank or maybe make a fortune selling cocaine?” he came back with so fast it surprised her.

She gave him another funny look then said, “Uh-huh. Yeah, you look like a regular El Chapo for sure.”

“Except that he got caught.”

“Oh, okay. So you’re a very proficient drug dealer,” Willa said, teasing but also probing for some kind of hint.

“Let’s just say most people would agree that I earned what money I have and leave it at that, okay?”

Jared then grabbed a curly fry of his own and tossed it at Willa.

“Hey! That’s assault with a...deadly fry!” she said before tossing it back at him.

“Eat enough of them and they probably will kill you,” Jared quipped before popping another one in his mouth.

“Not you! You’re so skinny you could eat those all day long. Now me? If I even finish this bag, they’ll be stuck to my hips before we get back,” Willa told him.

“Oh, yeah. Look at you over there. A regular Goodyear Blimp!”

Jared would be shocked if Willa even wore a size 8 dress. He wasn’t good with that kind of thing, but she was anything but big. She was actually a size 6, but he was right. She was anything but a blimp.

“I see. So now the real Jared Crisler comes out,” she said while narrowing her eyes to slits and glaring at him playfully.

“Um...huh?” he said, having no clue what that meant.

“Well, on the way down here you said I was...and I quote...beautiful. But now...I’m a blimp. And The Goodyear Blimp at that, if I heard you correctly.”

Rather than answer, Jared looked at her fries and asked, “Are you gonna eat all of those?”

“Okay. The uh, the Blimp...can take a hint,” Willa said, still pretending to be offended. “Here. Take them. Before I eat anymore and you have to wheel me out of here.”

“No. No way. I wouldn’t do that,” Jared told her very seriously.

He paused then said, “No. I’d just run a tether line to you so you didn’t float away.”

She reached for the fries he’d just taken to throw another one at him, but Jared covered them before she did. Her hand landed on top of his, and when it did, Willa froze for a second. When she did, she also looked at him, and as soon as Jared looked back at her, she pulled her hand away and, just as quickly, looked away, as well.

“I think I’ll just take the rest of this chicken sandwich with me,” she said as she suddenly started wrapping it up while still not looking at him.

Neither of them said much the rest of the way back, but when they pulled in, Willa thanked him for lunch. Or dinner or whatever it was. Jared told her it was his pleasure then got out of the truck by his very, very small house.

Willa started to pull away but stopped.

“Forget something?” Jared called out.

“Ha-ha!” she said before backing up.

“I...I was just going to say you could, you know, take a shower, if you wanted to. That’s all.”

Jared leaned in through the passenger-side window and as seriously as he could said, “Are you telling me I stink?”

Willa smiled and held up her right hand and used her thumb and index finger to indicate a small amount and said, “Maybe a tiny little bit.”

“Huh. I just showered three days ago, so....”

The way she laughed was as different as the way she’d looked at him in the fast food joint, and it made Jared look at her differently, too.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” he asked.

“Considering how I’ll probably have to spend time with you again tomorrow, it might not be such a bad idea. You know, from my point of view. If I’m...downwind.”

“Ah, okay. So...it’s all about you, then,” Jared teased while sounding serious.

“You’re a fast learner,” Willa told him with a laugh before stepping on the gas and causing Jared to have to pull away or be hit.

“When should I come over?” he yelled out but got no reply.

So he did what little he could do to get things ready for having the well dug the next day and waited until just before it got dark to knock on the cabin door.

Willa had obviously showered herself, and when he looked at her, Jared could tell something was different. It took him a few seconds after she invited him in to notice what it was, but she was wearing mascara. It seemed to be the only makeup she’d put on, but her lashes were long and black, and the difference was noticeable. Her hair was also down and had just been blowdried and looked amazing.

“You uh, you like nice,” he told her, trying to sound matter of fact.

She’d also put on a short-sleeved blouse and a pair of jeans, but it was her face that Jared noticed; a face that seemed much prettier than it had just a few hours earlier.

“The shower’s in through the bedroom, but you can go on in,” she told him.

“Ah. So this model has a master suite. Must be nice.”

Willa understood after having called his tiny house ‘very tiny’.

“I wasn’t...flaunting it,” she told him, trying not to laugh.

“Okay. Mater suite. Uh-huh. Now we know who the actual trust fund kid is around here,” Jared replied with a shake of his head as he walked away.

“Don’t hate me because I’m rich!” she said with a laugh as he disappeared.

It was getting cool very quickly now that the sun had gone down, and Willa’s feet were cold. She didn’t want to walk into her bedroom while he was in the bathroom, but her feet always got cold very fast, so she walked over and peeked in, hoping to be able to sneak in and out real quick.

Not seeing him, she tiptoed to the dresser, and although she didn’t mean to look, she couldn’t help it when she saw bare skin through a six-inch space where he’d left the door open to let steam out. She only looked for a second before turning away, but when her brain registered what it had just seen, she gasped then looked again.

The only thing visible was the right side of Jared’s right leg. It took her brain another second or two to verify it really was a leg because it was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. There were thick, deep scars from the thigh to the calf, and after feeling a sense of horror, she remembered the socks.